Stop Sterling - Palm Beach Election

They may live in mansions and their campaign buttons may be bigger but the affluent who reside on the island of Pam Beach have some concerns that are very much the same as we have in Lake Worth. Preserving their historic buildings are important as is the sand on their beach.

Yesterday, Katie and I were at Bethesda-By-The-Sea distributing Florida Hometown Democracy information. This magnificent church, built in 1889, could not have been a more appropriate place for this meeting as it was hosted by the Palm Beach Theater Guild that wants to preserve the historical Royal Poinciana Playhouse. Just being there made you a part of the history, something that Palm Beach wants to remember and protect. And who can blame them? It is a beautiful town.

Don't think that Lake Worth is the only city with controversial issues. Knowing that Palm Beach had this hot button issue and one that involved development, we stayed to hear the candidates, Cynthia Simonson, with a background in finance and Jeff Cloninger, a real estate broker and an alternate on the Town of Palm Beach’s Planning Board. Jeff actually knew about Florida Hometown Democracy--knew Lesley Blackner and her husband. Everyone who attended the meeting and asked questions were cordial, polite and non-threatening, unlike some of Lake Worth's residents.

Their opponents pulled a "no show" and it might have had something to do with their views on the historic Royal Poinciana Playhouse property. Both Cynthia and Jeff want to maintain the island’s uniqueness and small town charm and both want to preserve historic buildings. They do not want bad development in Palm Beach. Sound familiar?

Campaign Button
I was given a Stop Sterling button. Sterling is the guy (company) that has proposed demolishing the existing John Volk architecturally designed Playhouse that opened within five years of Bethesda-By-The-Sea. The developer wants to build two, 5 story condos and build a new playhouse. There is an agreement in effect with the property owner since 1979 and Sterling wants to ignore that legal document as well as the existing zoning laws.

The Sterling plan is moving forward this week to the PB Preservation Commission.

The election is February 2 and it is an extremely important one for the Island and for all those who know that history is something to preserve and hold dear. We both couldn't help but think, if Florida Hometown Democracy was in effect, politics would never again get in the way of government approving Comp Plan changes that would allow something like this to happen. This beautiful town and its history belong to the people, not a few on a town council and a developer.

Good luck to Cynthia and to Jeff.